Non-clinical isolates bring new findings on enterococcal virulence

Dissertation presented to obtain the PhD degree in Biology

Eutanásia ativa

Euthanasia, especially the active one, has always been an extremely discussed subject, which goes further pure dogmatics and transcends the strictly legal field. A reflection about such issue makes us re-think on what it implies for all the involved without ever loosing sight of the fact that admitting a legalization is, in a legal system as ours, to admit the lack of punishment of an homicide act or an assistance to suicide. However, burying in mind the foreign experiences, isn’t there a possibility of working on a path that respects both the basis of our legal system and the rest of the interests involved? And what interests would those be? How to admit such a path? Based on what assumptions? The present study proposes a discovery of paths and not the search for dead ends, creating definitive answers. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the existing structure of the Portuguese legal system on these matters, in a path that is until now mostly in favour of punishment, based on homicide or assisted suicide crimes. Along with the Portuguese dynamic, we want to analyse legal systems that opted by decriminalization and, based on those experiences, shared with our legal culture, scan the viability of a decriminalization procedure. What paths would be viable for such a decriminalization in Portuguese criminal territory? The scope is only to open the eyes of who always wanted to keep them shut, or to who just never tried to open them, because at the end of the day it will always be a discussion that we want to keep light up, since that what we are here discussing is life. We want discussion, not imposition.

Humble leadership and team voice

This study examines the direct and indirect effects of humble leadership on team voice. Although the relationship between leadership styles and voice is widely investigated, humble leadership and team voice, both relatively new constructs, remained out of sight. Drawing upon social interdependence theory, information exchange, team psychological safety, and team-efficacy are proposed to mediate the relationship between humble leadership and team voice. Research is conducted at the team-level analysis and involved 209 team members from 52 teams in 21 companies collected through a snowball sample. Results were provided by the SPSS macro PROCESS using the regression-based approach and bootstrapping techniques. Findings showed that humble leadership is positively related to team voice. Furthermore, findings supported the mediating effect of information exchange. However, no support was given for the mediating effects of team psychological safety and team-efficacy. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are addressed.